


The Blood of the Covenant

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Cassandra de Rolo Needs a Hug, Cassandra is a badass motherfucker who don't need no protecting, F/M, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Minor Keyleth/Vax'ildan (Critical Role), Minor Scanlan Shorthalt/Pike Trickfoot, Ravens, Swordfighting, Tieflings, Vampire Bites, yes it was a callback to the episode where they fight them in emon, you'll see why - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 10:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18364583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Keyleth was back beside him and was resting her head on his shoulder. “Oh Percy,” She sighed, lightness and laughter and so much love in her voice. “Could this be any more perfect?”Percy ran his fingers through her hair and smiled despite knowing she wouldn’t see it. “You know; I really don’t see how it possibly could be.”And then a loud, piercing shriek filled with terror and anger and all the things Percy dreaded most sounded from the castle to echo through the square and he was breaking away from Keyleth and running towards it before he even knew what was happening, his gun a solid weight in his hand that he didn’t even remember pulling from his belt.(AKA an old enemy returns and Percy'll be damned if he lets anything happen to his family again. Apparently, Cassandra shares his sentiment.)





	The Blood of the Covenant

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is weird but we don't actually know what happened to Sylas- I feel like him coming back and doing this would be something his petty ass would do. Also, I don't know any names for the children, so I just referred to them as 'first' and 'second' and things like that. If they have names that aren't "Peanut Butter" and "BBQ Sause" and the other stupid things that Taliesin and Laura joked about, let me know. Also yes, that thing Cassandra does/yells is a DIRECT REFERENCE to the same thing Percy does in ep 25 "Crimson Diplomacy" when they fought the Briarwoods in Emon. You know what it is. Also, I have no idea what the title means, it just sounded like it fit. It's religious or something. Water stuff. IDK
> 
> Let me know what you think x

Whitestone had always been Percy’s home, even at the times when he felt like it wasn’t, and that was something he felt even stronger as he walked through the darkened streets of his city, the moonlight glinting off of the snow piled up in the gutters and the faint lights that shone through the inside of homes and the faint smell of baked goods floating from an open window from the Slayers Cake made him realize that his home was more beautiful than he ever realized.

People, his people, were playing in the streets, laughing and screaming with joy and having a time unlike what they’ve ever experienced before. Vendors were loudly advertising their sales of fresh produce, young girls were standing on street corners handing out free flowers from wicker baskets hanging on their arms, husbands were shovelling snow out of the way of front doors and wives were tucking children into bed.

As he walked through the streets, his friends- now family bedside him- he wondered how he could ever hate this place. Keyleth had her arm through his as her long mantle dragged gracefully across the ground and small birds chirped happily in her antlers. Scanlan and Pike were holding hands from where they were seated comfily on Grog’s shoulders as he bounded along the footpath, playing with the giggling children. Vex was still in their quarters, tucked snugly into bed as their first child slept in the cot beside her and the other grew inside her. Keyleth pointed excitedly and Percy allowed her to drag him along. A raven flew above them, cawing loud and long and Percy squinted up at it as it circled.

He wasn’t sure when everything changed. Maybe it was when the Briarwood's were defeated and killed and Ripley was run out of the town with nothing but her name and one less arm. Maybe it was when the dragons were all slain and their scales pinned up as jewellery to adorn their armour. Maybe it was when Vecna was felled and his giant stone titan stood vigil over the land, and the people of Whitestone just felt a little safer with one less evil in the world. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because he and Cassandra were doing a good job and that their people had finally regained their faith in the de Rolo name.

Whatever it was, his people were happy and healthy and enjoying their lives for the first time in too many years and despite himself, Percy felt a sense of pride somewhere deep within himself that he couldn’t quite quell.

Keyleth raised her hand and gently ran the backs of her fingers across the low-hanging branches of a nearby tree, it’s boroughs decorated in string lights and streamers. “Look at this, Percy,” she breathed as the lights danced across her eyes. “It’s so beautiful. So different than when we first arrived.”

Yes, that was true. The sky had been dark with cloud cover and the life had been sucked out of the people of Whitestone like a plague had taken over the land. Nothing grew. There was no laughter. The children hid in their homes and families went missing. Nothing was as bright and happy as it was now. “I agree,” Percy said with a smile as a group of children twirled by him. “This is… much more lively. And much more enjoyable then what this place used to be.”

Someone was tugging at the hem of his shirt and Percy glanced down to see a glowing and eager Pike looking up at him with wide, open eyes. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she said. “How’s Vex going with your second? I know how much of a handful your first one was.”

Percy couldn’t help but smile at that. The horns and tail were quite a surprise and more than just a handful, both inside and out of Vex’s womb. “I believe everything is going along quite smoothly. Thank you for… all your help.” Pike beamed at him before she released her hold on his shirt and danced off towards her husband, who was entertaining a group of night-life children while Grog was taking turns carrying four at a time around the square to his shoulders.

The same raven from before had flown over to Percy and was now clawing at his arm, squawking frantically and tried to drag Percy towards the castle but he only frowned down at it and tried to wave it away. It left begrudgingly and landed in the tree where it shifted and made a deep, rumbling noise.

Before he knew it, Keyleth was back beside him and was resting her head on his shoulder, hands wrapped around her middle like she was holding herself close. Percy knew who she was missing and who they all wished was holding her instead. “Oh Percy,” She sighed, lightness and laughter and so much love in her voice. “Could this be any more perfect?”

In an effort to not state the painfully obvious, Percy ran his fingers through her hair and smiled despite knowing she wouldn’t see it. “You know; I really don’t see how it possibly could be.”

And then a loud, piercing shriek filled with terror and anger and all the things Percy dreaded most sounded from the castle to echo through the square and he was breaking away from Keyleth and running towards it before he even knew what was happening, his gun a solid weight in his hand that he didn’t even remember pulling from his belt.

The first thing he heard was the crying of a baby- _his fucking baby_ \- from inside the room he shared with the love of his life and he was so consumed with that horrifying knowledge that he almost tripped over the dead bodies of the guards that were stationed outside their door, so much blood dripping from their mangled faces that Percy couldn’t tell who they were.

He went to shove open the door but found it was already open and he almost tumbled into the room with the force of his movement but he had only needed one look at the man crushing his wife against his chest- tall, black slicked hair, straight back, broad shoulders, dark cloak with a hair collar- before he sent a speeding bullet straight through his shoulder. The blood that exploded from the room splattered across Vex’s face and she fell backwards as the cloaked man turned to face where Percy was with a hand holding his shoulder, but Percy had already rolled behind him and had one arm wrapped around his wife and the other pointed the gun at the intruder. He glanced down at her for a moment and was very confused at the blood pouring from her neck.

Without looking, Percy fired another shot behind him with no care whether it hit its target or not and focused more on leaning his pregnant wife up against the bed and shielding her with his body. Her eyes were wide and she covered her neck with a shaking hand. “He’s back,” she whispered, voice quaking so much that Percy almost couldn’t understand her before realization dawned on him.

It took Percy a long moment to realize that their bedroom window was now slightly ajar and the same raven who had pestered him before had flown into the room and was now clawing out the eyes of their attacker, who was swatting at the bird as it flapped around his head. Percy tried to hold on tight to Vex but soon he realized it had gone quiet and his breath caught heavy and cold in his chest.

Before he could react, two strong, cold hands grabbed him by his shoulders and spun him around he felt the hot breath of an old, ancient enemy ghosting across his face. Percy hadn’t felt fear like that in a long time as he gazed up at the wide, crazy eyes of Sylas Briarwood, a toothy grin plastered across his face, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth- _Vex’s blood_. “Hello again, pet,” he rumbled and Percy felt the malice dripping from his every word in his very soul. “It’s been a while. I see you’ve made a family here in this wretched town. It’s about time I took everything away from you, just as you took everything away from us.”

Percy could do nothing but stand there in shock as Sylas dropped his head and drove his fangs into the tender flesh of Percy’s neck and he felt the strange sensation of the blood being sucked from his body. Behind him, Vex screamed. His baby cried alone and afraid in his crib. And Percy, for the first time in a long time, wondered if his time had finally come.

“ _Sylas_!” Something long and wickedly sharp protruded from Sylas’s breastplate and a splattering of visceral blood ruined Percy’s shirt. With a pained scream, the vampire pulled away from Percy and whirled around to face Cassandra, still in her nightgown, pulling her sword from its scabbard. She dropped it to the floor and pointed the tip at Sylas Briarwood. “I will not allow you to take my family from me again!” As Sylas crouched down, Percy, through the sudden haze and light-headedness he felt from having his blood sucked out of him, recognised the hilt of his sister’s dagger and wondered where she had gotten such good aim.

Not bothering to remove the dagger from his person, Sylas leapt at Cassandra, who dove and rolled and came up swinging. Percy, finally recovering his wits, pulled Bad News out from under the bed and backed up into the furthest corner of the room. The resulting blast was enough to rattle the windows and a large chunk of Sylas’s shoulder erupted in blood. He glanced behind him and was very thankful to see Vex cradling their eldest to her chest, her hands cupping his ears, his tail wrapped around her arm.

Cassandra swiped her sword across Lord Briarwoods chest and blood spilled out in an arc to stain her pale blue nightgown. She dropped to the ground and dodged a swipe from Sylas and his long, sharp claws and pulled another dagger from her belt to jam it behind his knee. Percy felt a bright sense in pride as she stood up beside him, her sword baring their family’s crest covered in vampire blood and her hair falling in royal tangles down her back. No words were exchanged between them but the communication passed through them both regardless. As Sylas turned towards them and Vex sobbed with the baby in her arms behind them and Percy and Cassandra tightened their hands on their weapons, they knew that _he won’t leave here alive._

Lord Briarwood dove for Cassandra but Percy shot him in the hand and he dropped the dagger he had removed from his knee and he reeled back with a snarl, holding his bleeding hand to his chest. Percy was pleased to note that out of the mangled and bloody mess he counted one less finger. “You think you can stop me?” He snarled. “This was my home longer than it was yours, boy, and we were able to keep your wretched people in check much better than your foolish parents ever had the chance to. This place was ours and you took both the city and my wife away from me.”

Instead of answering, Percy tightened his grip on his gun. He didn’t feel like he needed to dignify that with any sort of answer. Cassandra, however, growled low in her chest and pointed her sword at Sylas Briarwoods ugly mug. “Don’t you ever,” She hissed lowly, “Speak of my parents like that again.”

Before Sylas could reply with one of his growling remarks, Percy shot him square in the face and he fell backwards, prone on his back, with a great gaping hole in his chest where his heart would be.

The construction of Percy’s clock tower had not yet been completed so he wasn’t sure what time it was but he was sure it had to be much, much later and a long while of ceaseless fighting and being fought when Cassandra finally drove her blade into Lord Briarwoods ribcage and it partially passed through mist as with a final scream his physical body dissolved into a pool of fog. Knowing there was nothing he could do, Percy abandoned his gun, trusting Cassandra to take care of what little was left of the vampire and moved towards Vex, who was just now standing up out of the corner.

Percy had almost made it to her when Cassandra shouted and dove forward and Percy watched in despair as the mist-that-once-was Sylas Briarwood made a swift retreat towards the open door, faster than he had expected him to move, and just as Percy thought they were going to lose him again, Pike was there with a stern look on her face and a bright glow around her, stopping Lord Briarwood in his tracks. The mist, unable to move past her divine barrier, writhed within itself as it tried to find some way to escape, and then Keyleth was leaning around the corner, hair a mess and her face a mass of anger and detest and absolute determination and her arm reached around the doorframe and blasted the mist of Lord Sylas Briarwood into a puddle of nothingness with a beam of Daylight that expelled from her fingertips. Panting hard, her and Pike looked around the room with wide, wild eyes as the others joined them in the doorway.

Vex crumbled in Percy’s arms, their sobbing child held between them, and Cassandra stood over the floor where the mist had met its end with an unreadable expression on her face, her rapier dangling uselessly at her side. “I’m so glad you’re alright,” Percy whispered into Vex’s sleep-ruffled hair and he couldn’t even find the energy to care about the way his voice shook. “I never thought that would happen in a million years. I thought the guards were enough but-”

He was silenced by Vex’s hand on his lips. “Don’t blame yourself for this. You had no idea- no amount of guards or preparation could have stopped this. I’m safe. _We_ are save.” She amended, running her fingers through their son's thick dark curls, his skin such a deep purple that it was almost black in the darkness. She glanced towards the window sill, where the raven was perched, its feathers a mess. “Did the raven find you?”

“It did. I just wish I had been more aware of what it was trying to tell me.” Percy admitted, still holding his family to his chest. His hands were shaking. “Do you… need a moment with it?”

“I think I do,” reluctantly, Vex pulled away from Percy but kept a hand on his cheek. She nodded towards Cassandra. “Go. Speak with your sister.” And then Percy had no choice but to let her go because she was pulling away from his grasping fingers and swooping towards the battered raven perched on the windowsill.

Turning to his sister, her eyes still unseeingly fixed on the floor now coated in blood, Percy put a hand on her elbow. “Thank you,” He said sincerely as she blinked and turned to look at him. “I don’t know how that would have gone if you hadn’t shown up when you did. So… thank you, for helping me save my family when I couldn’t do it for you so long ago.”

Cassandra laughed bitterly and it was a sound like broken glass being dragged over stone. Keyleth looked over worriedly. “Oh, not to worry, dear brother. I would rather die before I let another one of those monsters take my family away from me a second time.”

“Stand down,” he reached out and pushed her hand down to her side so her blood-tipped rapier was aimed at the floor. Her grip slackened and for a moment Percy was the only one holding the blade before the strength returned to her fingers and she tightened her hold. “I doubt we’ll be dealing with them for a long time now, if at all. I think we might be done with the Briarwood's.”

“Is Vex alright?” Cassandra changed the topic and Percy released the hold on her hand to pretend he didn’t feel it trembling.

He glanced over at Vex, seated now on the edge of their bed, Pike with her fingers delicately dancing over the bleeding wound on her neck as glowing, divine healing extracted from her fingertips while Keyleth was rocking their baby boy back to sleep in her arms, his tail curled around her arm and her head nestled in the crook of her elbow. “I feel as though we’re all going to be alright.”

“Good,” Cassandra ran a hand down her face and finally allowed herself a moment to relax. She slumped back and Percy almost didn’t catch her as she fell against the wall. “That is the best news you could have possibly given me.”

Guards were rushing in now, weapons drawn and were immediately held up by an outraged Scanlan _(“your reaction time is always so terrible! This is the second time it’s happened and the second time we’ve had to take care of it on our own! I don’t know why Percy employs you_ people _, honestly_ ” _)_ and a very worried Grog _(“are they going to be ok? Is the little on alright? On no, Vex why are you bleeding? Percy looks like he got chewed up and spat out by a hydra! And you didn’t even leave any smashing for_ me _!”)_ they took away the bodies of their comrades and swept the castle for any sign of backup. Percy glanced back down to his sister, her hair hiding her face behind a veil of white and brown. “How did you learn to fight like that? It’s not something one would expect from the Ruling Lady of the city, much less one’s baby sister.”

Cassandra’s smile was worn and tired but Percy was proud he had managed one out of her anyway, despite how thin it was. “I’m not your baby sister anymore, Percival, and it would do you good to remember that.” She elbowed him in the side. “And one learns much when they are alone in a large castle with nothing but their thoughts, memories of their old life and an armoury filled with weapons used by de Rolo’s past. What else was a girl to do?”

“Paint your nails,” Percy suggested lightly, not at all meaning it. “Braid your hair. Read a good book. Collect flowers and pieces of white stone from the mountains. Something other than learning the fastest way to murder someone.”

“I couldn’t exactly go and pick the brightest flowers from the forest edge or find broken pieces of white stone when I wasn’t even allowed to leave the Castle walls.” Cass pointed out. Her face darkened and she looked away.

And Percy threw himself forwards and wrapped his arms around his shaking sister and after a moment of surprise Cassandra relaxed against him and slowly wrapped her arms around his taller, broader frame as he laced his fingers in her hair and buried his face in the crook of his neck and he pushed her head down to mimic his. “It’s over, Cassie, it’s finally over.”

As the raven gave one final, almighty caw, it spread its wings (now smoothed back into place by a careful Vex) and took off into the night, leaving the de Rolo’s and the rest of Vox Machina alone in the bedroom with a dozing baby, a sibling missing it’s other and another pair embracing and a family relieved that none more had been lost. 

**Author's Note:**

> listen. LISTEN.
> 
> You can not tell me that after all the things Percy's done with demons (ORTHAX mainly but also the demon he signed the contract with in hell????) that they wouldn't have at LEAST one tiefling child in their lot. They had 5 kids for god sakes, they had to have had one. I hc that their skin colour would be the same colour as Orthax and the smoke that came out of Percy during the Briarwood arc because that's the demon he had the most connection with. I don't know. Prove me wrong. (Also, knowing people like Zarah we know how OK they are with tieflings and I know how much they would love their son anyway) so YEAH that's my personal take on this. Now they just need a fucking name.


End file.
